Goodbye, good life | Bughead

19: Morning light

Sun was shining, ground was slippery and grass little frosty. So it was a beautiful morning. Unless you were a nerv-wreck. Like Betty. Like Jughead. And walked together through the neighbourhood you used to live. Correction. Where you used to live together.

"You wanna speak?" Betty asked with a shaky voice. But she already decided when she woke up that they had to get through this. Not again the situation where they don't speak. If not for her. For Jb. That's why they are even here.

Jughead coughed and kicked the little rock in front of him.

"You are gonna listen to me? No interaptions?"

Betty hummed for the answer.

"Okay.. so. I'm sorry for leaving yesterday after I made you speak. But it was and still is really hard to say something. And I was afraid that I'll yell at you something stupid. I walked around the town the whole night after I left. I looked all the places. I even went to the woods. That wasn't very clever. And not nice. But hey, bunker is still there. Yeah. I ramble. It was one of the hardest things to hear, about your kiss with him. You must knew that if it'd have been with someone else, it had been different. But he. I kind of understand your feelings about being the fifhteen year old Betty. Maybe you forgot the life you were living at the moment? I don't know. I think what bothered me the most was that you told me only after you had to. Just like the kiss back in the days when we were broken up a little while. It's because of him, I know. My soft spot. But maybe it wouldn't have been so soft if you wouldn't have to hide things always so long. You realize where I come from?" Jughead gave Betty a chance to say something. She had been very quiet and paid the attention for his point of view.

"Jug I really do. It was a mess and my behavior made it much more. If I'd have told you right after the kiss, it had been much smaller issue, I think. Because it changed bigger in my mind when I hid it and then it was bigger to you too," Betty whispered, she was afraid to burst into tears.

"As I walked through the town, I saw the good things. We haven't had even much of those bad ones. So we keep the good ones and we can keep coming here again and again and smile and enjoy our time here. We deserve that. Those were the best years of my life, those years I was with you. And don't you dare bring up all the death in this now. So. It hurt me yes, but it's time to let go. I forgive you," and when he was saying the last sentences his voice shivered and he stopped walking. His eyes were glassy, he fell down on his knees and tried to breath normally.

Betty watched Jughead on the ground like quarter hour. She didn't speak a word. She was thinking was the forgiving maybe bigger thing to him than her to receive that. She was pleased yeah, but how his body reacted. It was like some evil spirit just left him and he was free. Betty was on her knees too, couple feet away from him. It felt weird to stand when he was down there. His breathing was finally sounding normal and Betty got a courage to go on.

"Jug. Are you okay?" she wanted to make sure of that first.

"Wow. Yeah. I had no idea my body would act like that. It got free I guess. I got free," he talked like to himself again.

"It was a heavy purgase to carry. For both of us. Thank you for your words and forgiveness. It means a lot. And thank you for discussing this like adults," she said and stood up. She gave her hand to Jughead to help him up too giving a slight smile. "Look at us. Friends and adults. Where is our price, what can we get?" Jughead joked.

"Don't get a big head. We aren't done with all of our shit. But friends and adults, yeah, we certainly are," Betty answered lifting right corner of her mouth for a half of a smile. One bing from her pocket interrapted then the conversation which was turning a lighter one.

Jb: Say hello to my fam. Don't let Jug going to dark, you are his light.

Betty felt red flushing to her cheeks and her neck. His light.

"Why are you blushing suddenly?"

She'd had to show the text, Betty swallowed, took a big breath and gave the phone to Jug. "She a medler even though she is not here and haven't been in years. Pain in the ass," Jug said huffing but there was slight of red on his cheeks too as he gave the phone back to Betty. "But she is there and she gave us something. Let's go to breakfast and tell her greetings. We'll talk about the next move on our way back to home, yeah?" Betty asked and they turned they way back to the house to the coffees and croissants.

Fp and Alice got the hellos and weared the biggest smiles after that. Fp gave almost too much credit to Jughead and Betty, to their investigation duo who were back. That they were but them speaking about that, it felt little awkward and weird. Also, they knew it was kind of their fault what happened and why Jb left. So it was more about what they had to do to make everything right. They wanted to find her, yes, but it was their job to find her. Their responsibilty.

After lunch Fp drove them to train station and they said goodbyes all of them promising to keep in touch, about their own stuff but especially about Jb. Investigation duo found their seats and opened their notebook.

"Betty. I don't know if you realized you promised to go to them at Christmas. You promised us both there," Jughead sounded little pissed about that. "Jug I'm sorry, I didn't think! And maybe even didn't mean it. I was just saying but I do that often with her. And then the things will change and we'll do what we'll do," she blushed, again.

"I'm not so sure it works like that when it includes dad too," he frowned, trying to look serious, for real it was more hilarious to him. He would have propably said the same answer. "Oh god. I'll fix this," she paniced a little, and it was kind of cute in Jughead's opinnion and just where he aimed.

"No, no, you don't have to. I was going to be alone probably, so it would be maybe quite nice upgrade and I think we can manage it if we'll go. We survived this weekend, so don't worry," he calmed her down, chuckling a bit. Betty wasn't at her the best when it comes to mistakes she had made.

"I love to make you nervous, like seriously, you can stop panicing, I'd be going anyways," Jughead laughed when he looked at Betty's fingers dancing on the cover of their notebook and how she bit her lip. "You did this on purpose? You son of a.." Betty smacked with her hand on his arm and Jughead kept laughing. Friends again. Yeah, they were even after they had the first real talk.

At that night at their own places they both felt themselves a little bit lighter. Jughead a bit more since he was the one who let it go and forgave. But Betty too. This was a huge baggage to carry all these years, the quilt. And in the end, it was the thing which led to all those next ones to come. They still have a lot to discuss, but it was good that the first thing was out. Their high school years and Riverdale years was clear, they could think about those without aching pain in their chests.

Betty: Wanted to thank you one more time. Thanks for making me talk, it was a time. And thanks for the talk, we did good. And your words. Thanks fo giving all the good memories back. Those were the best years of my life too, those years I was with you.

Jughead: It was needed. All those things. Thanks for talking. And those years.. amazing.

After those texts they exchanged, Jughead's mind was racing. This blonde girl he once loved, what he felt for her now? After forgiving her mistake, all those beautiful memories kept appearing in his head like images, like movies and they made him smile and laugh out loud, he sighed for the good feeling.